Interdisciplinary Decision Making with Patients Requiring Tracheostomy and Mechanical Ventilation

Patients with respiratory failure and distress are now surviving with the help of medical advances including tracheostomy tubes and mechanical ventilation. This course will provide clinical education on a model of an interdisciplinary flow chart that outlines a protocol providing objective criteria for patient tolerance of a Passy-Muir closed position one-way valve, a critical step in the assessment of the patient's speech, voice and swallowing. We will discuss the development of the protocol, the co-evaluation process and subsequent treatment planning, the clinical benefits seen with the Passy-Muir closed position one-way speaking valve use and basic quality of life issues.